Video editing may seem like a daunting task, but most simple marketing videos aren’t on the same scale as a Hollywood film! In this week’s digital marketing tip, we are sharing a few editing tips to help you make a GREAT video!

Before you can edit, you need to have a video editing software. Once you have your software installed and opened, import all of the footage, music, and other files you might need. Everyone has their own organization method, but either way, you will want to put some of your footage on your video editor’s timeline, and arrange it in a rough approximation of what order the clips will be in.
The first thing to know is how to cut video. Regardless of your video editor of choice, the cut tool should be pretty simply. Usually you can just select this tool and click on where you would like to split a clip in your video timeline. This will create a “cut” that turns your single clip into two clips. This basic tool means you can mess up a line and restart, without having to stop filming. Just keep recording, and cut out the useless stuff later. To get better cuts, try to film so that there are a few seconds of dead space before and after all of the footage that you actually need.

Cutting should be sufficient to put together a simple video, but you’re going to need some more to spice up your marketing videos.

One of the most impactful aspects of a video isn’t the visuals – it’s the audio! A full audio tutorial is beyond the scope of this post, but there are plenty of resources to learn these skills. The two primary things you can do to make your video sound great is noise reduction (gets rid of white noise that your microphone picked up) and compression (which, put simply, reduces the difference between the quietest and loudest parts of your audio to give a consistent volume).

Music can also help bring a video to life! There are plenty of resources out there for royalty-free music, which is great, because you will get in some serious hot water if you use a copyrighted song without permission! You can also buy the license for a track you like if you have the budget for it. Make sure when you’re editing, you adjust the volume of your music so that it puts the “background” in “background music”. You want it to be subtle, but not overpowering any voices in the video. Play on speakers, headphones, and even a phone speaker, to make sure everything sounds good!

The other thing you’ll need to spice up your video is titles. The method of creating these may vary depending on your video editor, but at the end of the day, you’ll be putting text onto the screen. These can be really important, either as the intro to a video or even to introduce a person who is speaking in your video. Make sure the text is visible on whatever it’s displayed over, and you should be good to go!

Outside of the technical side of editing, there needs to be a good flow. This can only really be learned with experience, but there are a few easy things you can do. Make sure there are no awkward silences with the voice-over, and that there are no awkward visual pauses. If you are putting together multiple shots or camera angles, make sure the cuts are smooth. Everything should feel natural. Don’t let people realize they’re even watching something edited!

Hopefully these editing tips help you get started with producing your very first marketing videos!